CW Picks Up DC's "Arrow"

In a week where TV series are getting renewed and canceled at a rapid-fire pace, The CW has bolstered its prime time lineup by picking up Arrow as a series, according to Comic Book Resources. The show will reimagine the classic DC Comics character, The Green Arrow, in the typical hour-long drama format of most CW shows. Starring Stephen Atwell as the titular hero, the show was created by Green Lantern screenwriters Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim, and former Green Arrow and Black Canary comic book writer Andrew Kreisberg. Check out the official description of the show below:

After a violent shipwreck, billionaire playboy Oliver Queen was missing and presumed dead for five years before being discovered alive on a remote island in the Pacific. When he returns home to Starling City, his devoted mother Moira, much-beloved sister Thea, and best friend Tommy welcome him home, but they sense Oliver has been changed by his ordeal on the island. While Oliver hides the truth about the man he’s become, he desperately wants to make amends for the actions he took as the boy he was. Most particularly, he seeks reconciliation with his former girlfriend, Laurel Lance. As Oliver reconnects with those closest to him, he secretly creates the persona of Arrow – a vigilante – to right the wrongs of his family, fight the ills of society, and restore Starling City to its former glory. By day, Oliver plays the role of a wealthy, carefree and careless philanderer he used to be – flanked by his devoted chauffeur/bodyguard, John Diggle – while carefully concealing the secret identity he turns to under cover of darkness. However, Laurel’s father, Detective Quentin Lance, is determined to arrest the vigilante operating in his city. Meanwhile, Oliver’s own mother, Moira, knows much more about the deadly shipwreck than she has let on – and is more ruthless than he could ever imagine.

The pilot episode was directed by David Nutter (Game of Thrones) and is based off a teleplay by Kreisberg and Guggenheim and a story by Berlanti and Guggenheim. There is a surprising amount of quality TV and comic book talent behind this show, and as long as it stays true to the character and doesn't go completely off the rails like Smallville did in its final years, Arrow has the potential to be the rare live-action comic adaptation that actually works.